Collin Vlass, 28, of Durango trains for his 1,200-mile bicycle ride to support the Alzheimer's Association, which started Tuesday in Loveland. The ride is inspired by and honors his grandfather, Norman, who organized the Relay for Life in Loveland that raised $1 million for the American Cancer Society in the 11 years before his death. He died in June 2011 of Alzheimer's.

JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Collin Vlass, 28, of Durango trains for his 1,200-mile bicycle ride to support the Alzheimer's Association, which started Tuesday in Loveland. The ride is inspired by and honors his grandfather, Norman, who organized the Relay for Life in Loveland that raised $1 million for the American Cancer Society in the 11 years before his death. He died in June 2011 of Alzheimer's.

The goal of the next outing for a Durango man with a passion for adventure is to repay one good deed with another.

Collin Vlass, 28, a 2001 graduate of Durango High School, on Monday started in Loveland a 1,200 mile bicycle ride to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association to honor his grandfather, Norman.

Normal Vlass, an organizer and mainstay of the Relay for Life in Loveland, died of Alzheimer's at age 77 in June last year.

“In the 11 years before he died, the Loveland relay raised $1 million for the American Cancer Society,” Vlass said. “I want to carry the torch, to continue his legacy of giving.

“My grandfather went elk hunting the year before he received the diagnosis of Alzheimer's,” Vlass said. “The end came very quickly after that.”